TECHNOLOGY

Interworking

Using Pseudowires for service interworking can be accomplished through the use of Ethernet Pseudowire, as defined by MPLS Forum of Ethernet services (also known as bridged mode in RFC 1490/Rcc1483; or IP Pseudowire (ARP Mediation), as defined by IETF for IP services (also called routed mode in RFC1490/RFC1483). Currently, the HSX 6000 supports Ethernet services (bridged mode) interworking, using the MPLS Forum specification.

Each of the HSX 6000 service interworking conversions take place along the data path at both the ingress and egress USM modules, which allows the ingress and egress connections to be of any protocol or rate. The interworking feature begins as the ingress process de-couples the protocol specific user and trunk interfaces and then converts them to a common packet format for traversal across the HSX 6000.

The egress USM converts the packet to the appropriate protocol (ATM, Frame Relay, or Ethernet) to ensure that the service attributes of the desired egress port are established. The HSX 6000 supports the service interworking source and destination types and standards that are listed below.